On
his ongoing quest to discover his inner geek Ethan journeys to Atlanta to
participate in his first ever Live Action Role Playing (LARP) game. Ethan
had never LARPed before his adventure to Atlanta so he was a little weary and
apprehensive of the whole concept of pretending to be a Dungeons and
Dragons-esque character for an entire weekend. When he first arrived in
Atlanta he meets one of the LARP’s organizers, Chris Tang, who drove Ethan to
the Forest of Doors, the name of the LARP, and acquainted him with the way
LARPs operated.
Once
Ethan arrived at the camp ground where the Forest of Doors LARP is held one
weekend a month about an hour outside of Atlanta, Georgia, he got into costume
and waited for the game to begin. Another Forest of Doors organizer,
Charles Kelley, gave Ethan a crash course and soon Ethan was LARPing as Ethor a
monk from the Realm of Castles.
The
first night Ethan turned in early because he felt very out of his element only
to be woken up in the middle of the night by a shadowy figure walking past his
bunk in a cabin. The incident nearly gave Ethan a seizure and, as a result,
he didn’t sleep well that night. The next day, however, Ethan really
tried to have an adventure and he succeeded when a knight came up to his table
in the tavern and asked for recruits. Ethan accepted the offer and he was
off. During the rest of the game he met characters like Wolf and Sir
Talon who LARP regularly and who help explain to Ethan why people prefer role
playing over other kinds of games. They also show Ethan how it helps them
deal with the problems they have to deal with in the real world. By the
end of the game on the third day, Ethan realized he thoroughly enjoyed himself
and he really appreciated the LARPing experience.
By
Michael Caughron
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